Call of Destiny

I am not much of a movie fan, but Disney cartoons have always been my favourite. I remember when I was a child,  my father would bring me to the cheap afternoon matinee (ie 3rd class seat right in front) in town - and my eyes would literally pop out watching the antics of Bambi, Snow White and Cinderella. Today's cartoons are so much more sophisticated, thanks to digital technology and wat-have-yous. Definitely more to ooh and ahh over. 6 years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed Frozen, and of course every time some kid in the kindergarten where I used to work belted out Let It Go, I would be joining in with gusto.

So of course I had to watch the sequel 6 years down the line. Well, Frozen 2 lived up to its commendable reviews. The animation was excellent, as expected of Disney. Although the story-line was kind-of cliché, playing out a politically - correct stage of aboriginal and environmental issues , still there was a good depth of provoking themes , following the adventures of the 2 beautiful protagonists Elsa and Anna and the side-kicks, Olaf the snow - man, Sven the reindeer and the male lead Kristoff.

I particularly enjoyed the scenes of Elsa battling with the elements, especially the water-horse. And who can resist Bruni, the cute salamander, such an unlikely personification of fire. What started Elsa off was just a call that wouldn't go away. It tugged at her heart, resounded in her ears, so much that she gave up her throne to pursue the truth of what happened in the past and why she was born with such powers. Ultimately it was a journey to discover and enter into her future. And that is what I call destiny, the one thing which gives purpose to every human life on earth.

We are all born with a destiny, irrespective of whether we believe it or not. After all, if it's the truth, it's true. In one scene,  Anna asks her sister, " When will you see yourself as I see you?" . Such a loaded question - man might as well ask, when will we see ourselves as God sees us? David,  the shepherd boy who grew up into his destiny to kill a giant and become  king had this to say about his Creator God , "I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.... Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:14,16) .

All of us have questions about life, death, meaning and purpose. Some subscribe to the "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" anyway philosophy. Personally, I think life would be pretty boring if that's all there is to it. Some would claim we are masters of our own destiny. That's an individual stand we are free to take. But there comes a time in everyone's life when if we are attentive, we will hear the call, like Elsa did. At that time, it will be up to us how we respond, whether to ignore, pend, reject or obey the call.

My call came 20 years ago, at the worst possible crisis of my life; facing loss of employment, a dying husband, and 3 young kids. Literally my world had collapsed. I didn't recognize it as a call then; I was just desperate. But it was indeed a call. And once I said yes, I entered into my destiny; something I only realized as it keeps unfolding season after season, year after year. Like a rose, opening up petal by petal, amidst and in spite of thorns growing alongside.

Queen Elsa was so stirred, she had to walk away, give up what was normal and settled in her life then. In  the end, it was worth it; finally she knew where she belonged, why she was born "like that".

That's destiny fulfilled, perfected - we become completed. And it's not just about individuals. If we would believe God, there's an even bigger picture He's painted - the destiny of nations. After all, if there's such wonderful method and order in the entire universe, nations are like pieces of a jig-saw puzzle He's put together beautifully. The only problem is many times the picture goes out-of-whack, because we want to do what we want to do, not what He wants done.

Even a loud-mouth snowman got me thinking about life, when Olaf in his 'growing up' phase said, "... when you're older, absolutely everything makes sense." Actually that's not true. In fact, sometimes it's quite the opposite - when we get older, nothing makes sense. Wisdom is supposed to come with age. But unfortunately that's not a mathematical given. Like we would expect after more than 60 years of so-called independence from colonial 'masters' , Malaysians would have matured and moved on beyond divisions of race and religion. Yet, it seems many - leaders, no less, whether it's of communities, organization, or government - are still operating in 'pet silos'. of our own making. I thought as we grow older as a nation, we really should all know better, right? (shrug)... now why it isn't so doesn't make sense to me.

For all its (erroneous) presumption about age and wisdom though, Olaf does get one thing right with this remark - "I just thought of one thing that's permanent -love". That's so on target. Governments of the earth come and go, policies, rules and regulations change according to the whims and fancies of man. But there's something about love that releases power for good. At least that's what the Bible teaches me - love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8) because true love puts others before self, even at great cost. Just so, Jesus came to love and die for others to live in peace, reconciled with God and with each other. And that message of love has never changed through ages, irrespective of whether people chose to accept or reject, to believe or rubbish it.

Perhaps if we cultivated a little bit more love in our relationship-roles, be it as parents,  children youths, seniors, neighbors, bosses, workers, leaders, followers, citizens, even pendatang (whatever race or religion), then this world we live in called Malaysia would be a better place for all. Then we can be free of hate, mistrust, fear, suspicion and the need to be 'one-up' to prove ourselves better, more "right", more holy or more entitled than other human beings. Now, surely, that would be a good foundation to start building a beautiful Malaysia on.

I like how the clumsy hero Kristoff loves Anna. In the thick of battle, he simply says "I'm here, what do you need?' and later adds , what to me, is the power-line "My love is not fragile". For those words, Kristoff has been immortalized as Disney's best feminist prince ever, a symbol of healthy not toxic masculinity. But for me, it goes beyond gender. Imagine a Malaysia where instead of jostling for "our" rights, instead of complaining everyday how useless, bad, lousy everything and everyb
ody else is, because "our" needs are not fulfilled, we spare a moment to say to another , "I'm here, what do you need?", or how can I help you? I am reminded how Jesus went about serving people. He didn't just fast and pray, He walked miles, fed the hungry, healed the sick, brought the dead back to life.  He taught His followers, " love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you". (Luke 6:27-28) . He lived what He preached - willingly He went all the way to die on the cross, to save a lost world. Truly His love is not fragile. What if we were to love like that? Stupid, some would say. Well, there are others who choose to believe that kind of love is the only power that can break the chains of oppression, evil and death itself.

Of course, all fairy-tales must end with happily-ever-after. So it is with Frozen 2. There's a new beginning for all . Evil is subdued, good triumphs. Light overcomes darkness.  The captives are set free.  The oppressed are delivered.  Relationships are healed.  The love-birds get married. The kingdom gets a new sovereign. The dead get resurrected, even only a snowman. So all is well. Personally, I think it shouldn't just happen in fairy-tales. It should be for real, in the real world. Because that's how it was meant to be.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" ... Jeremiah 29:11